Zhong Kaihui was busy looking at his phone, not even raising his head as he continued, “Hurry up and go do it.”
Chen Man knew he hadn’t been listening to a word she said.
But she’d take it as agreement anyway.
She pulled out the suitcase covered in dust.
Over the years, they’d had their share of fights, but with nowhere else to go, she had never once left home. At most, she would go sit alone at the supermarket outside the neighborhood until midnight, and once she’d digested it all, the matter would be brushed aside.
Until the knots grew bigger and bigger.
Seeing Chen Man take out the suitcase, Zhong Kaihui finally caught on, belatedly. “Wife, what are you making a fuss about so early in the morning? You can’t just say things like that, or I might take them seriously.”
Chen Man suddenly remembered what Zhong Kaihui had said when he learned she had no parents: Then from now on, you’ll have no one to rely on but me.
With his gentle tone and the headiness of new love, Chen Man had thought it was a promise.
In truth, it had given him a reason to act without fear of consequences.
“Then take them seriously,” Chen Man said flatly.
Zhong Kaihui’s face darkened, and his voice dropped a few degrees. “You didn’t come home last night, and today you want a divorce. Chen Man, tell me honestly—is there someone else?”
“No. I just don’t want to be with you anymore.”
Zhong Kaihui: “So you despise me for being poor?”
Had he been rich when she married him?
But before she could say it out loud, her phone rang.
It was Auntie Wang from her hometown, her voice urgent. “Xiao Man, come home quickly! Your maternal grandmother fainted and hit her head—she’s bleeding. The way it looks, she needs to go to the hospital. She wouldn’t even let me tell you.”
“I’m coming right away.”
Chen Man’s face changed. Her mother had died early, and her maternal grandmother was her only remaining family. She hadn’t yet had the chance to repay her kindness—nothing could happen to her.
Zhong Kaihui had naturally overheard the call, and his face filled with concern. “Take leave from work. I’ll go hail a car for you. Don’t panic.”
With that, he hurried out the door.
As Chen Man went downstairs, a neighbor greeted her. “I just saw Kaihui hail a car to send you to work. Thoughtful men like him are hard to come by these days. Don’t fight, okay!”
In front of everyone, Zhong Kaihui was a model husband.
But living with him day to day was like a frog in slowly boiling water—only she knew the bitterness of it. That dull knife that couldn’t be pointed out, cried out about, or made a scene over was the most grinding of all.
Zhong Kaihui came over, draped an arm around Chen Man’s shoulders, looking apologetic and ingratiating. “It’s all my fault for making Xiao Man angry. My mistake.”
Then he said considerately to Chen Man, “I’ve called a car for you. Actually, let me take you there myself!”
He was still wearing slippers—the words were just for reinforcing his image in front of outsiders.
Chen Man couldn’t be bothered to argue. She shook off his hand and walked toward the road.
The neighbor said disapprovingly, “Xiaohui, you really do have the better temper. If it were my old man, he’d have blown up ages ago!”
“It’s only right. I wasn’t good enough,” Zhong Kaihui said, playing the good husband with practiced ease.
Back in the village, looking at Chen Fangchun lying in bed, utterly frail, Chen Man felt a pang in her heart.
“Grandma, come on, let’s go to the hospital.”
The car was still waiting outside. Not giving her grandmother a chance to refuse, Chen Man helped her up and walked her out.
“I’m fine, Manman. Don’t waste the money…”
Chen Man said, “The driver’s already here. Even if you don’t go, he’ll still charge us.”
Chen Fangchun sighed and grumbled, but in the end she went with Chen Man to the county hospital.
The wound on Chen Fangchun’s head wasn’t serious. After it was treated, Chen Man explained the situation to the doctor and had relevant tests done.
The test results came back quickly, and the doctor pulled Chen Man aside to speak privately. “It’s a pulmonary embolism. A blood clot is blocking the blood vessels in her lungs. Her blood oxygen saturation is a bit low. If she has trouble breathing later on, she could go into shock at any moment. She needs to stay in bed and take medication while we monitor her.”
Chen Man’s face went pale, her mind a complete blank.
She didn’t even know when she left the doctor’s office, until Chen Fangchun took her hand. “Manman, my wound is all taken care of. Take me to the bus station—the chickens haven’t been fed yet. I need to hurry back.”
“Grandma, let’s not go back for now. Come with me to the city.”
Chen Fangchun shook her head. “I’m fine in the village. I won’t get in the way of you two. I’m just waiting for you to hurry up and have a baby, and live a happy life together.”
Back then, when Chen Man’s mother got divorced and raised her child alone, the villagers pointed fingers and gossiped, saying all sorts of things. It had always been a sore spot for Chen Fangchun, so her greatest wish was for Chen Man to have a stable marriage.
Chen Man pressed her lips together, hesitating, not yet daring to mention her decision to get a divorce.
Just as she was trying to persuade Chen Fangchun, a video call came in from Zhong Kaihui. “How’s Grandma doing? I’m about to get off work—I’ll come take a look!”
“No need.” Chen Man asked tentatively, “I’m thinking of bringing Grandma to our home.”
Chen Fangchun watched her cautious expression from the side, her aged face growing even more awkward.
Zhong Kaihui’s face stiffened for a moment, then he smiled. “Even if you hadn’t said anything, I was going to have you bring Grandma over to stay for a couple of days!”
“I’m not going, not going.” Chen Fangchun waved her hand stubbornly.
Chen Man had to keep Chen Fangchun in the city.
She pointed the phone at Chen Fangchun. Zhong Kaihui had always been good at these pleasantries—let him do the persuading.
“Grandma, it’s me, Xiaohui. Listen to me.”
He would play the good guy, and it came in handy at this moment. Within a few sentences, he had talked Chen Fangchun around.
……
Chen Man and Zhong Kaihui’s home was originally a two-bedroom apartment—one was the master bedroom, and the other was Zhong Kaihui’s study. The living room ran the length of the apartment, so a bedroom had been partitioned off from it, where Liu Hongjuan now stayed.
The three of them didn’t exactly feel crowded, but there was no spare room either.
After hanging up, Zhong Kaihui went back and told Liu Hongjuan to tidy up the room. “Mom, just bear with it for a bit and share a room with Chen Man’s grandmother. That old lady isn’t easy to deal with—don’t lose your temper with her.”
When Liu Hongjuan heard that Chen Man was bringing someone over, and that her own son was taking Chen Man’s side and making her suffer for it, she exploded.
“This is my son’s house! Why should an outsider get to live here? I won’t allow it!”
Zhong Kaihui said, “Chen Man already asked—what can I say? Anyway, that’s her only relative, and she won’t live more than a few more years. Mom, don’t make things hard for her later and drive her out.”
If they refused to take the woman in, word getting out would be their fault. But if the old lady couldn’t stand living there, that would be her own problem.
Liu Hongjuan got an idea.
When Chen Man and the others returned, Liu Hongjuan warmly took Chen Fangchun’s hand. “You look perfectly fine to me—why waste money going to the hospital? That’s not a place country folk should be going into.”
“I said it was nothing too—no reason to waste good money…” Chen Fangchun awkwardly changed the subject. “This room is so bright and lovely!”
She looked at Chen Man with gratified eyes.
“Wait,” Liu Hongjuan glanced at Chen Fangchun’s black cloth shoes with white soles. “Change into a different pair!”
“My shoes are clean…”
Though Chen Fangchun said this, she still took off her shoes and changed.
Liu Hongjuan’s mouth curved into a smile that didn’t reach her eyes, while she went to bring over a plastic stool. “Have a seat, in-law.”
The red plastic stool looked flimsy, as if a single straw falling on it would crack it—just like her already fragile self-esteem.
Chen Fangchun froze mid-motion, still bent over changing her shoes. From the corner of her eye, she saw the sofa—so long, so soft. She remembered when they bought this sofa, Manman had even called her to ask what color she liked. She said she didn’t know about such things, and Manman said her taste was the best—if she came, she could spot the quality at a glance.
Just looking at it, the sofa seemed so stylish, she had thought back then. Her Manman had a home of her own now, where she could stretch out and lie on a soft sofa. How wonderful.
The kind smile on her face strained and strained, and she turned to look at Zhong Kaihui. She remembered this maternal granddaughter’s husband—gentle and thoughtful, a good man.
Zhong Kaihui picked up his phone, as if going out to the balcony to take a call.
Chen Man knew Liu Hongjuan wouldn’t stay quiet. On the way back, she had sent Zhong Kaihui a message about Chen Fangchun’s illness, her words implicitly begging him to keep Liu Hongjuan in check and not let the conflict reach her grandmother.
Zhong Kaihui had replied: Of course.
But now, he was playing the bystander again, letting Liu Hongjuan charge into the fray.